User:Kellygr/sandbox

The Littlest Seed
The Littlest Seed is a 40 page story by Kelly Joseph Graves about the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ as told from the fictionalized perspective of the holy cross itself.

Story/Plot
A little boy arrives home from school and kicks the newly planted pine tree in his front yard. He complains to his mother

concerning his frustration at being teased for being the littlest in his class, made all the more painful by his religion

teacher’s lesson informing him that Jesus was “nailed to a tree”.


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The boy’s mother tells him the story of The Littlest Seed: The pine seed was the littlest of all the seeds that fell to earth that day. He blew away with the first gust of wind,

landing in a rich man’s grove amongst beautiful fruit and oak trees. The seed hoped he would bare fruit and grow up to be

just as valuable as the other trees. However, it is soon clear that he is only a scrawny pine tree. The workers in the grove

pull him out of the ground and replant him in desert soil far away. It is here that the tree learns several valuable lessons

and begins to listen to his own heart, divinely created by his own good actions and by the Holy Spirit.

After nearly giving up on his life, he is visited by the Holy Family on their return trip from Egypt. Jesus, a curly-haired

little boy, gives him the water that will save and sustain him in return for the shade of his branches. The little boy leans in

close and promises the tree that they will meet again soon, and that he will bear much fruit.

The next time he sees Christ is when he awakes in his embrace as the holy cross. The cross then experiences the passion

much as Christ himself does. When Christ falls, the cross falls; when Christ forgives, the cross forgives; when Christ thirsts,

the cross thirsts.

The cross is the first to see Christ rise from the dead on the third day. The fruit the cross bares is the souls of men.

Paul realizes that even the littlest can do good things, and that the holy cross is good in what it represents; carrying

out God’s will for the salvation of men.

Intended Audience
The story was originally intended for children but contains transcendental material that is of a meditative nature, including

the sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the Roman Catholic church, particularly relating to the Stations of the Cross. Therefore,

it appeals to a broader audience in which the lessons can be contemplated in a family atmosphere. The story can also

be applied in religious education at the instructional level for children of all ages. The booklet was self-published on Amazon.com

the day before Ash Wednesday in 2012 along with a website www.wix.com/kellygr/thelittlestseed.